DOJ Drops Uber FCPA Probe

by Chris Terwisscha van Scheltinga on January 10th, 2020

DOJ Drops Uber FCPA Probe

Welcome to This Week In Compliance: GAN’s weekly news roundup, where we curate the latest stories on compliance and anti-corruption to keep you informed. This week we cover the DOJ’s decision to drop its probe into Uber over potential FCPA violations. Keep reading for this breaking story and find more news below:

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DOJ drops Uber FCPA probe

The U.S. Department of Justice closed an inquiry into whether ride-sharing company Uber violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by offering bribes to foreign government officials. The investigation was first reported on by the Wall Street Journal in 2017 and focused on allegations of improper payments made in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and India. The closure of the probe comes right as Uber is completing its acquisition of Middle Eastern ride-share competitor Careem.

Goldman Sachs Close to 1MDB Deal with U.S., but Malaysia Still Suing

Malaysia’s state prosecutor announced plans to bring Goldman Sachs executives to court given their role in the 1MDB corruption fund scandal. The investment bank is trying to reach a settlement with US authorities for USD 2 billion. Across the globe, Malaysian state prosecutors have had two or three negotiation rounds with the bank and Malaysia’s Attorney General has stated that the country is preparing for trial. The trial will allegedly seek compensation for the value of the bonds Goldman arranged for 1MDB, plus interest, amounting to around USD 8 billion.

Exxon Wins Rare Reprieve From U.S. Sanctions Fine

Exxon Mobil Corp. was exonerated from paying a fine it received in 2017 for violating U.S sanctions on Russia. The fine, which amounted to USD 2 million, was imposed on Exxon after they struck contracts with Russian state owned oil firm PAO Rosneft. Even though Rosneft was not on the U.S. sanction list, the contracts were signed by the company’s CEO, who was. Reportedly, the ambiguity of OFAC’s guidance on blacklisted individuals with ties to non blacklisted companies, was the main cause for waiving the fine. According to the latest judgement, OFAC failed to give Exxon proper notice on its interpretation of the violated sanctions – and thus, their executive order was found to be given under unfair notice.

Tencent fired more than 60 employees over bribery and corruption in 2019

Chinese social media giant, Tencent, said it fired over 60 employees during the first three quarters of 2019 over allegations of corruption and bribery. Reportedly, the company ran 40 internal investigations in the past 9 months involving corruption, misappropriation, and bribery. The wrongdoings reportedly occurred in different parts of the business including tech and engineering, as well as cloud and smart industries. 10 of them were handed to the authorities for violation of the law. Tencent, China’s leading social network and online games company, has also blacklisted 16 other companies involved in alleged corrupt behavior and announced they will no longer engage in business with them.

Ethics

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Boeing employees mocked federal rules, talked about deceiving regulatory agencies, and joked about potential flaws in the design of the 737 MAX as it was being developed. The damning material was contained in a communication of hundreds of pages submitted by the airplane builder to congressional investigators. Among other things, employees discussed concealing software problems and other issues with Max simulators from the Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.). In one instance, a Boeing employee mocked fellow employees and questioned the design of the airplane, saying: “This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys.” Boeing expressed regret about the content of the messages and apologized to the F.A.A., Congress, airline customers, and the flying public.

Graft trial date set for former French President Sarkozy

A trial date has been set for former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who stands accused of attempting in 2014 to obtain information from a senior magistrate at the Court of Cassation about a wiretapping investigation the authorities had launched over suspicions that Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign was financed by late Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. It is alleged that Sarkozy offered the senior magistrate a promotion in Monaco in exchange. The trial date is set for October 5th and the trial is scheduled to conclude on October 22nd. The trial will not be the only one as there are other pending corruption charges against the former president.